Receptacle with disappearing closure



11, I [.J. vlsssn 2,292,590

RECEPTAC'LIIE WITH DISAPPEARING CLOSURE Filed Aug. 4, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheetl ram 51- JOHN l m-aea Aug. 11, 1942.

J. VISSER RECEPTACLE WITH DISAPPEARING CLOSURE Filed Aug. 4, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 11, 1942 RECEPTACLE WITH DISAPPEARING CLOSURE John Visser, Grand Rapids, Mich assignor, by mesne assignments, to Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of the United States Application August 4, 1939, Serial No. 288,306

3 Claims.

This invention relates to closure means, and more particularly to a novel method and means for closing an opening in a panel wherein the closure member is adapted in its closed position to lie flush with the front face of the panel and to be disposed in a concealed position behind the panel its opened position.

A wide variety of closure members have, of course, been provided in the past for closing various types of openings in panel members and the like. Some of these closure members have been of the type which are pivotally mounted on the front face of the panel and swing outwardly to afford access to the opening. Others have been mounted in a similar manner but on the back side of the panel and swing inwardly. Still other forms of closure members have been mounted in such a manner that they slide across the opening. In the design of closure members for openings in the panel member of an automotive vehicle which is commonly referred to as the dash board the various known types of closure members have not been altogether satisfactory. A pivoted closure member which swings outwardly is undesirable because of its unsightly appearance in an open position. A closure member which swings inwardly is usually objectionable since there is not sufiicient space behind the panel or dash board to permit such movement of a closure member. The common form of sliding closure member is also objectionable since the outer face of the member in its closed position is not flush with the outer surface of the panel.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel closure member which in its closed position presents a surface which is substantially continuous with the outer surface of the panel member on which it is mounted but which in its open position is disposed in a concealed position behind the panel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel closure means which is economical to manufacture and which is rugged and reliable in use.

A further object of this invention is to provide a novel method and means for supporting and moving a closure member for an apertured panel.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel combination of panel, ash receptacle, and closure member.

Another and further object of this invention is to provide a novel combination of panel supparatus supporting sub-panel, and closure member therefor.

Another and further object of this invention is to provide an improved and simplified mechanism for accomplishing the above object.

Another and still further object of this invention is to provide resilient and frictional means for holding a closure member in either open or closed position.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. My invention itself, however, both as to its organization and manner of construction, together with further objects and advantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure '1 is a plan view of a portion of a panel having an aperture therein and a closure member for the aperture, the closure member being in its closed position;

Figure 2 is a section on an-enlarged scale taken just below the level of the panel shown in Figure 1, the plane of the section being shown IIII in Figure 4;

Figure 3 is a cross section taken along the line IIIIII of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a section taken along the line IVIV of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a side elevational view partly in cross section;

Figure 6 is a side elevational view in cross section taken along the line VI-VI of Figure 4.

The general outer appearance of the preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 1 and includes in general a panel III which has an aperture ll therein that affords access.to an ash receptacle I2 mounted behind the p-anel. In order to enhance the general appearance of the construction and in order to cover the ash receptacle when it is not in use, a closure member or cover 13 having an operating groove [4 is provided for disposition over the aperture ll. As will presently be described, the closure member I3 is mounted in such a manner that in its closed position, as shown in Figure 1, the outer surface of the aperture closing portion of the cover 13 is arranged so that it presents substantially a continuous surface with the outer surface of the panel l0, while in its open position, as shown in Figure 6, it is arranged to be disposed behind the panel In in a substantially completely concealed posit1on.

porting member, an instrument carrying and ap- Ashreceptacle I2 is preferably of the removable type and is provided with a snuffer element I5.

Referring now to Figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, the detailed construction of the closure member mounting means and its method of operation will be described.

The supporting structure associated with panel I upon which the cover I3 is pivotally mounted for movement into and out of aperture II includes a pair of brackets I6 and I! which are secured to the rear face of panel ID in proximity to aperture II in some suitable manner such as by welding or the like. Although the brackets I5 and Il may assume a wide variety of shapes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, a highly satisfactory form is to cut them generally pie-shape or triangular shape. Extending between the rear edges of brackets I6 and II is a connecting plate I8. The upper edge of connecting plate I8 is provided with a forwardly extending flange I9 which extends behind and in spaced relationship with panel I0 opposite aperture II. The central part of flange I9 is provided with an opening 2|] which is substantially similar in shape to that of aperture II of panel II] but of slightly smaller dimensions. In cutting the opening 23 in flange I9 portions of the stock are left to provide a plurality of integral downwardly extending tongues 2 I. Flange I6 is thus arranged to support and receive an ash receptacle I2. The ash receptacle I2 may, of course, assume any of a wide variety of forms but is shown in the drawings as being a substantially rectangular metal box I2 having curled outer edges 23. The dimensions of the rectangular ash receptacle I2 are such that it snugly slides through opening 26 until outer curled edges 23 engage flange I9 to be supported thereby.

The integral tongues 2| of flange I9 frictionally engage the side walls of the ash receptacle I2 to snugly and firmly hold it in place.

Although the connecting plate I8, the flange I3, and the tongues 2| are all shown as being formed integral with the pie-shape arms or brackets I6 and I1, since a piece of stock may be economically stamped and bent into the desired shape, it will, of course, be understood that these various portions of bracket Il may be cut separately and subsequently secured together in any suitable manner without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

The novel form of the cover construction I3 and the manner in which it is mounted on brackets I6 and I. will now be described. Cover I3 includes in general a top portion 24 and two rearwardly extending pie-shape supporting arms 25 and 26 which are preferably formed integral with portion 26. The central portion of the top part 24 of cover I3 is slightly raised to form an aperture-closing portion 21 which snugly fits within aperture il in such a way that the outer surface of aperture-closing portion 21 is substantially flush with the outer surface of panel III. In other words, the outer exposed surface of cover I3 in its closed position presents a surface which is substantially continuous with the outer surface or front face of panel I6.

The cover mounting means which will now be described is of such a character that it will permit the aperture-closing portion 21 of cover I3 to be angularly moved or slid out of aperture II to a concealed position behind panel II). More particularly, the lower ends of arms 25 and 26 are pivotally mounted on a rod 28 which extends between the lower ends of the brackets I6 and I1 and which is permanently secured thereto. Rod

28 extends through two holes 29 and 30 provided in arms 25 and 26 of cover I3 as shown in the drawings. At an intermediate point on each of arms 25 and 26 arcuate guide slots 3| and 32 are provided, the guide slots being arranged for disposition over guide stud 33. From the above description it will be apparent said slots 3| and 32 limit the angular movement of arms 25 and 26 and cover I3, since the guide stud 33 will abut the forward end 35 of slots 3| and 32 when the cover is in its open position behind panel I0 and will abut the rear ends of slots 3| and 32 when the cover is in its closed position.

In order that the cover I3 may move into its substantially flush position with the front face of panel I0 without them being any interference between the cover I3 and the panel ID, the edge 34 of the aperture II behind which the cover I3 swings is raised slightly above the level of the surrounding portion of the panel ID, as clearly shown in Figures 1, 3, and 6. This allows the cover I3 to swing down behind the panel I0 from the position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 6.

In order that the cover I3 may be resiliently and frictionally retained in either its open or closed position, a coil spring 36 is connected to the lower end of each of the arms 25 and 26 so as to extend over rod 28 in the manner shown in Figure 3 of the drawings. Opposite ends 31 and 38 of springs 36 are secured to the arms 25 and 26 in any suitable manner such as by hooking their ends over the lower edges of the arms. Springs 36 are mounted in such a manner as to remain under tension, thereby biasing arms 25 and 26 in a radially outward direction. Although the tension springs 36 tend to move cover I3 radially outward from its pivot point as defined by red 23, such movement is prevented by guide studs 33 riding in slots 3| and 32 for all angular positions of arms 25 and 26. The apertures 29 and 30 in arms 25 and 26 are preferably made with sufiicient clearance around rod 28 to permit the lower side of slots 3| and 32 to frictionally bear against the guide studs 33. It will thus be understood that when cover I3 is in aperture closing position or in any intermediate position, it is held firmly and tightly in place by virtue of springs 36 urging the lower edges of slots 3| and 32 against the under sides of guide studs 33 and by virtue of the fact that accidental movement of panel I0 is prevented by the friction between the guide studs and the edges of slots 3| and 32.

The manner in which the cover I3 is operated from its closed to open position is illustrated in Figure 3 and 6 of the drawings. The cover I3 in its closed position (i. e., in its aperture closing position) is shown in Figure 3. If access to the ash receptacle I2 is now desired, a finger is engaged in the groove I4 and a tractive force applied to the cover I3. The cover I3 and its associated structure isthereby caused to slide to a concealed position behind the right-hand portion of panel-III. During this angular or rotational movement of cover arms 25 and 26, the cover I3 is maintained in spaced relation below the undersurface of panel III by virtue of the fact that it swings about the rods 28 as a center and the undersurface of the portion of panel Ill under which cover I3 swings is spaced further from the rods 28 than the upper surface of cover I3. As the guide studs 33 reach the end of slots 3| and 32, cover arms 25 and 26 and cover top portion 24 are in the position as shown in Figure 6 of the drawings. To close aperture II, it is simply necessary to push upwardly on the groove I4 thereby causing counterclockwise rotation of cover arms 25 and 26. This swings cover It back to the position shown in Figure 3 in which it is retained by the springs 36 and the frictional engagement of guide ends 33 with the lower edges of slots 3| and 32. The ash receptacle and novel cover arrangements therefor described above may, of course, be mounted in a wide variety of manners and in a wide variety of places. The panel l0, instead of being mounted in a generally sloping position, may be either vertical or horizontal. In the latter case, the ash receptacle I2 may be mounted in angle to the panel in order that it may more efiiciently retain ashes and cigarette stubs and the like deposited therein.

While I have shown a particular embodiment of my invention, it will, of course, be understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, since many modifications may be made, and I, therefore, contemplate by the appended claims to cover all such modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a panel assembly, a panel having an aper ture therein, a receptacle structure having its ash receiving mouth in alignment with said panel aperture and mounted behind said panel, a disappearing closure member mounted behind said panel for movement from behind said panel into said panel aperture, and means affording bodily movement of said closure member by a purely rotational movement into said panel aperture as said closure member moves to its aperture closing position, the center of rotational movement of said closure member being located to one side of a line normal to the center of the aperture, the outer surface of said closure member being constructed to form a substantially flush and continuous surface with said panel.

2. In a panel assembly, a curved panel having an aperture therein, a disappearing closure member mounted behind said panel for movement from behind said panel into said panel aperture, and means for enabling bodily movement of said closure member into the opening of said panel aperture as said closure member moves to its aperture closure position so that the external surface of said member will be substantially flush with that of said panel and forming a substantially continuous surface with the main portion of said panel, said means including a pivotal support for said member and means for confining said movement of said member solely to movement over an arcuate path, the center of arcuate movement of said member being laterally displaced from the center of curvature of said panel a distance commensurate with the thickness of the panel material.

3. In a panel assembly, a curved panel having an aperture therein, a disappearing closure member mounted behind said panel for movement from behind said panel into said panel aperture, and means for enabling bodily movement of said closure member into the opening of said panel aperture as said closure member moves to its aperture closure position so that the external surface of said member will be substantially flush with that of said panel and forming a substantially continuous surface with the main portion of said panel, said means including an outwardly disposed offset at the edge of the aperture presented by said closure member, av pivotal support for said member and means for confining said movement of said member solely to movement over an arcuate path, the center of arcuate movement of said member being laterally displaced from the center of curvature of said panel.

JOHN VISSER. 

